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I've been reading on another website about remote-controlled class 08 shunters used in South Wales. I'm intrigued by this as I've never heard of any kind of remote control being used on a loco, and an Internet search has turned up no further info. Does anyone have any knowledge of these machines and how they operated?

It's in use all the time in yards here in North America. You can tell when an engineer is controlling a locomotive (or more) from a belt-pack (the term used for the control). The locomotive will have a flashing white light on top to signify this mode of operation.

Often, on a fine day, the engineer will choose to control the locomotive from the locomotive's external walkway rather than sit cramped up inside......

Earlier this year the Kent & East Sussex Railway acquired one of the remote-control fitted Class 08 diesels. It was 08888 (D4118) and had been fitted for remote control operation by DB Cargo while working in South Wales. One of the first jobs to be carried out when it arrived at the K&ESR was to remove the emergency stop buttons and the garish 'traffic lights' front and back.

08495 now at the NYMR currently being used as the PW yard loco.
This was Remote control fitted and has various non standard lamp arrays fitted to either end.
I think it was radio fitted by DB Schenker for use at Eastliegh East yard.
It is no longer Radio control fitted.

Typically, a yard crew will be despatched with a work list detailing which blocks of cars are to be moved from a consist on a specified track and moved to another (this is pullback switching). In larger yards there will be multiple tracks, storing different consists, the tracks coming together at each end (the high and the low end) where the tracks leave the yard.

All switching is done manually by the yard crew, the engineer being just part of the team. The benefit being that the engineer can see the switching operation better and can move independently in the yard as the locomotive picks up and drops off blocks between tracks. The other members are coupling/uncoupling cars and setting the switches.

The crew will often ride the block of cars although they are not supposed to.

My apologies for using North American terminology, I trust you can understand the terms.